La Gaudière
by SomethingWitchyThisWay
Summary: La gaudière n. the glint of goodness inside people, which you can only find by sloshing them back and forth in your mind until everything dark and gray and common falls away, leaving behind a constellation at the bottom of the pan—a rare element trapped in exposed bedrock, washed there by a storm somewhere upstream. Draco Malfoy Love Story Years 1-7
1. Chapter I

Sinopa panted, looking a lot like the dog that loped alongside her as she tried to keep up with her Mum far ahead of her. They were about to pass their front door and if she remembered right there's a really bad crack in the concrete about two blocks after the petunias. It also meant they had jogged for nearly 5 kilos and around, what, half an hour? Sinopa couldn't figure out the exact time and she didn't really care too besides that it was too long and she was _tired_.

Sighing as she passed by their _so welcoming front door and that front porch of Happiness and Relaxation, Gods_ _know she'd much prefer to be drinking some tea or something and there was a cute little kitty on their front porch,_ she hoped they hadn't fixed the crack just yet. Passing by the petunias, her bright brown eyes scanned the ground for the crack and a smile lit up her face as she "tripped", the toe of her sneaker catching the crack.

Sinopa let out a shriek as she fell, hoping that Feather, her beautiful dog, would show his intelligence and prove that he had beauty and brains. As she hit the ground, skinning her elbows and knees, she heard her mother approaching at a quick jog.

Feather wasn't doing anything. Whatsoever. In fact, he was simply staring down at her, his pink tongue lolling out of his big mouth. Sighing sharply as she laid on the ground, Sinopa murmured out of the corner of her mouth, "Act."

If her dog didn't act concerned, her mother would know it was all an act to get out of her morning jog (although, jog was not an accurate word. Marathon was closer. More accurate).

Feather jumped into action, yipping and licking at her face in worry, and nudging her with his wet nose to help her sit up. It took the girl a couple of months to teach him the command to "Act" after she realized he could tell whenever she was scheming and lying to get out of doing something and the poor dog didn't know what to do for it so she tried her best to teach him how to go along with her.

"Sinopa!" Her mother called as she came closer. She sounded worried, making a smirk come over her face before she covered it with a grimace. She only hoped it was believable.

"Yeah?" Sinopa asked, pushing herself off the concrete and back, landing on her bottom as she examined her skinned knees and her hands. They'd be annoying for the next couple of days, but Sinopa figured she'd live. It'll get her out of jogging for maybe — what, a week? She'd need to get her Nokomis to go with it, but that wouldn't be too hard. She could probably squeeze out a few tears if it was necessary. Sinopa hoped she didn't hurt her tank top. She thought the emerald color was a nice offset to her russet skin.

"Hey, love, are you okay?" Mum asked, squatting down in front of her and pulling her daughter's calloused hands towards her to see the damage that happened. She grimaced at the blood bubbling up from the scrapes that raked up the heels of her palms and down her knees through the white Harem pants she was wearing.

"I'm bleeding soooo… not really. And I scraped up my elbows too. Are they bleeding?" Sinopa asked, craning her head down to check her elbows. Her face contorted into a grimace at the ripped skin, trying to hide how pleased she was. She'd be able to relax for a bit, _finally_ , and maybe get some frozen yogurt (Sinopa's Mum was a bit of a health nut) and that one shirt she had been wanting out of this whole situation.

Feather was still licking her face in a concerned manner and pawing at the loose pants that Sinopa wore when she exercised. Smiling, she leaned forward and kissed his nose, calming him down. He sat back and gave her his doggy smile, his tongue lolling out and looking out of place on his big frame and subtracting from any kind of viciousness he would've possessed.

Mum grimaced as she surveyed Sinopa. She wasn't sure if she should make the girl walk home or not, despite it only being a few meters away. She didn't want to coddle the girl, but her knees would bleed even more if she forced her to walk. And her daughter, while fit, was growing to be a bit lanky and she'd definitely be heavy — she was an 11 year old and would be going on 12 in a few months and they weren't exactly light after the age of four.

"Do you wanna walk to the door? Or do you want me to carry…." The woman trailed off, seeing Sinopa raise her arms in the air in an obvious gesture of "Carry Me!"

"Please? My knees really hurt," Sinopa lied, hoping her pout worked. Sure, her knees stung a bit, but they didn't actually hurt. They looked a lot worse than they felt, same with her elbows and hands. But if she was being offered to be carried, she was all for it.

Sighing, Mum picked the girl up and held onto her thighs as Sinopa wrapped herself around her front.

"Y'know, you've gotten worse injuries than this in Gymnastics and your self defense classes," Mum mused, beginning to walk to their home. Feather walked behind her, his tail wagging back and forth as he stared up at Sinopa who smiled and cooed to him.

"Yes, but due to what happened prior to this travesty, I am super tired. Therefore, I am unable to walk to the door in this time of need," Sinopa dramatically cried out, swooning backwards, a hand on her forehead to complete the look.

Mum snorted, readjusting Sinopa so she wouldn't fall flat on her back on the sidewalk. "Nokomis is rubbing off on you," she muttered, walking up the stairs to their townhouse's front porch.

"Mum, this is all of your effect," Sinopa corrected as she adjusted herself, making eye contact with the cat and when she blinked, it was gone. She bit her lip and avoided looking back over there, trying to perk up back to her earlier attitude, despite the mood being ruined for her.

Sinopa grinned cheekily, her white teeth shining bright as her Mum opens the door. Walking into the cool house felt like a blessing on her overheated skin. Feather followed in patiently behind the two.

A fool's grin painted on her face she leaned back up, coming smiling-face to annoyed-face with the woman, Sinopa wrapped her long arms around her neck, the tops of her arms brushing the bottom of her bob that was perfectly aligned with the strong jaw line that her own was beginning to match.

"Thank you, Mumsy!" She chirped as she pecked her Mum's straight nose, ignoring the eye roll she received in return.

Her Mum made a sharp turn right, nearly knocking her daughter's head into the archways frame as she walked into the parlor. "Where do you wanna sit?" Feather happily laid on the ground, his panting lessening now that he was in an air conditioned house.

Tilting her head back, she gave a quick cursory glance around all the seats available and didn't have a random jar or drying herbs or random cook books laying on it haphazardly.

Nodding decisively, she turned to face her Mum. "You see that empty space on the left book shelf — on the second shelf from the top — beside the basket of hardware tools — I'd like to sit there."

She was promptly dumped onto the window seat.

"Thanks Mumsy, another injury to add to the list," Sinopa snarked, Feather jumping up beside her, taking up all the room that was left and a little of her own. Feather gave Sinopa's Mum his own unimpressed look as he licked the side of his owner's face awkwardly.

"Hey, Mum!" Sinopa's Mum called as she walked out of the room.

Sinopa finally let her smirk slide onto her place, proud of her acting. Now she just needed to milk it.

"What Alsoomse?" Sinopa's Nokomis called back from somewhere in the back of the house.

Sinopa zoned out as she slowly nudged one of the dark wooden chairs toward her. All the two were arguing about was where _"that bloody first aid kit was?"_ (in the powder room's sink cupboard). It was too far away for her to get it to move much and all she was doing was pushing it away further when suddenly... the spindly chair moved inch by inch till — finally — it was close enough for her to prop her long legs on and stretch out, ignoring the slight sting coming from her knees. She bit her lip. The creepy thing had happened again.

She pushed the chair away and let her feet rest on the floor, not bothering to do anything about her tennis shoes. Sinopa forced the chair out of her mind and focused back on the consequences of earlier. The only annoying part of what happened was that her pants were ripped and stained. And she really liked those pants.

Her thoughts jumping around, she decided on merely studying her dog's fur. Sinopa quickly got bored of that and switched to squishing his pointed face (she liked to joke that he was part fox whenever they brought up his husky coloring) and cooing to the poor creature.

"AND WHOOooo is the CUTEST dog in the world?" Sinopa continued on and cooed, "You're the cutest dog in the world! And it's all because of your gorgeous fur, yes it is! It's white and black and it has these chocolate tips almost like you got it done at a salon because you're just so pretty. It's a tad bit annoying."

Feather kept licking her face until Sinopa's Nokomis arrived.

"Hi, love, how are you holding up with those _awful_ injuries of yours?" Nokomis asked, bustling in with the tea tray. Sinopa's brow twitched as she realized Nokomis already saw through her charade and cast off the tears idea and milking it. Nokomis would out her in a second.

Instead of answering her question, Sinopa posed another question that should've been asked a long time ago as she started rolling up her pant legs to her thigh. She nearly winced at the mess she made of her knees.

Sinopa idly wondered what kind of pants they were as her hand went back to petting Feather, who had taken it upon himself to lounge across the limited space the window seat offered.

"Nokomis, I really should've asked this a bit ago and I probably already did now that I think about it because I remember Nokomis is Algonquin I remember, but not what for?" Sinopa blurted out as Nokomis started preparing the tea.

Nokomis raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "I want you to think for a moment what it could possibly mean. This is a very important life lesson to always think through your knowledge of a subject so you don't ask your Grandmother such a stupid question in the future."

"Well that burn was certainly an awful injury," Sinopa snorted. "Thanks Grandma."

"I prefer Nokomis, it reminds me of our Native American heritage." Nokomis poured three cups of tea out, the aromatic smell of lavender and jasmine soothing Sinopa's senses.

"Komo."

"No no."

"Noko?"

"Definitely not."

"Okay, I found the first aid kit! Mum, did you put a wet washcloth on that tray?" Mum asked as she marched into the room, her long legs eating up the distance between her and her daughter.

"Of course I did," Nokomis harrumphed, tossing the washcloth at the back of her daughter's head as she kneeled by Sinopa's legs.

Heaving an aggravated sigh, she picked up the olive green washcloth and started dabbing at her knees, cleaning away the drying blood on her knees and the pebbles and sharp stones embedded in the skin.

"Pity about your Harem pants though, they're ruined for sure," Mum commented absentmindedly, her shaped eyebrows drawn together as she bit her full bottom lip, completely concentrated on the task in front of her.

Sinopa snapped her fingers. "THAT'S what these pants are called."

"Here you go, love, here's a cuppa," Nokomis offered the cup of tea she had been preparing to Sinopa, setting Mum's cup of tea on the edge of the round table. She reached for her phone and quickly scrolled through her selection of audio books. Finally, she decided on Ashfall: Chapter 13, and the words floated through the room.

Sinopa hissed as her mother swiped antiseptic on her knees after she finished cleaning them, no warning had been give. Before Sinopa could take a sip of her tea, she was forced to place it down for her mom to clean her hands and her elbows.

"Bandages or just regular band-aids? Which will allow for maximum maneuverability?" Mum pondered before reaching for the roll of bandages, smearing a home remedy healing salve on her cuts before wrapping them all.

Just as she was getting started on Sinopa's hands, her elbows and knees finished, their doorbell rang. Nokomis set down her book, Romany Remedies and Recipes, and looked to Sinopa, who had already pulled aside the curtains just enough to see an elderly woman swathed in emerald.

"It looks like a friend of your, Komis," Sinopa murmured as she studied the woman's attire. From what she could tell through the gauzy curtain, she was wearing some kind of hat and what kind of dress was that?

"Nokomis!" Nokomis scolded as she stood to answer the door, Mum also getting to her feet to put away the first aid kit and probably get started on her yoga or whatever.

Sinopa tilted her head, wondering if she would reach her Nokomis' height when she was finished growing or Mum's height which was a few inches shorter than Nokomis' towering 5'11.

Eh, she didn't care anymore. As long as her dog wasn't taller than her, she was good.

As Nokomis reached for the door handle, Sinopa switched off her audio book, wanting to hear the exchange. She plugged in her earbuds though, making it appear that she was listening to the book still through them so she could eavesdrop.

"Hello, welcome to the Siksika home, my name is Nadie."

"Hello. My name is Minerva McGonagall. May I come in? I have information regarding your granddaughters education."

"Come in. I've just made tea, would you like some?" Nokomis led a stern older woman into the parlor and gestured to a seat, before she sat down herself. Sinopa kept quiet about how the dress the woman wore was actually robes of deep emerald.

Speaking of clothing, she rolled her ripped pants back down, trying to avoid hitting Feather's head and waking him up. The tears in the fabric showed the bandages around her knees.

"If it wouldn't be too much of a bother," Minerva said to Nokomis before coming to stand in front of Sinopa. Sinopa tried her best to be polite, the strict woman did not look like she would be kind if crossed and her mere presence seemed to demand respect.

Sinopa held out her left hand and Minerva shook it. "I'm Sinopa. Minerva, correct?" Minerva nodded, her thin lips stretching into a small smile. "What about my education? I'm being home schooled so are you from the government?"

Minerva shook her head and took the chair to Sinopa's left, leaving the chair across from her for Mum, her cup of tea still sitting there steaming. "I'm not from the government, no. Although I think my explanation should wait till your mother joins us."

"Alsoomse! Hurry up! We have a guest!" Nokomis shouted and a loud thud was heard from upstairs, followed by a groan. Sinopa guessed she was snapped out of her "yoga trance" as she called it.

"That sounded like it hurt," Sinopa commented as she sipped at her tea, Feather dozing away in her lap, which put the young girl at ease. If Feather didn't consider the woman to be dangerous then she was safe.

"I must say, I like your haircut, it suits you," Minerva complimented in an attempt to make conversation and Sinopa blushed lightly, running a hand through her short, dark mocha hair, causing the chin length strands to float around her face and tickle the soft skin there.

"Thank you, and your emerald robes," she stumbled over the word, "bring out your eyes," Sinopa complimented back, having been taught that if you receive a compliment, you return it; same with insults.

"Okay, I'm here." Mum came skidding into the room through the library, a pleasant smile pulled at her full lips as she introduced herself and sat down beside Minerva.

"Let us get to business." And suddenly the down-to-business woman was back. "Where I work, I am a professor and your daughter has been accepted into the school, Hogwarts."

Mum cocked her head, her own dark brown hair that matched her daughters moving with her. "I don't remember applying for her to go into any school at all."

Nokomis bit her lip as she thought, her crow feet becoming deeper as she thought. "And I've never heard of a school called Hogwarts."

Sinopa didn't think the two were saying anything worthwhile and inquired, "Why was _I_ accepted to your school?"

"You see, the school is for special kids," Minerva explained. She was immediately thrown off when the family (you couldn't doubt that they weren't Grandmother, Mother, and Daughter with the resemblance. It was uncanny!) all assumed the same expression: unrivaled anger.

"I must say, I'm quite offended on my granddaughters behalf."

"Just because she has dyslexia — " Mum began in a snarl reminiscent of a wolf.

"The only thing she got from her worthless father," Nokomis commented off-handedly, trying to calm herself down.

"— and ADHD does not make me qualified for a school dedicated to special kids!" Sinopa shouted, her bright brown eyes going hard.

"No, you misunderstood me," Minerva quickly said, trying to placate the angry family. "You're daughter is a witch."

"You're — what? Sixty something? And you're calling an 11 year old names." Sinopa was getting really sick of the woman.

"It's not even an original one." Nokomis seemed more disappointed at her lack of creativity. "How pathetic!"

 _"How dare you!"_ Mum thundered, getting to her feet and looking intimidating with her strong jaw clenching and unclenching and her once smiling mouth was pulled into a scowl. Her dark brown eyes were daring Minerva to say _one more thing_. "Who do you think you are to be calling her a witch? We all know what rhymes with it and I can't help but think you're a _bitch_."

If the estranged woman thought she could go about insulting the pride and joy of her life then she thought wrong. She had no qualms with kicking an elderly woman's arse.

Minerva wanted to sigh at the short-tempered family but refrained, rightly sensing it would only cause more trouble. "Not the rude kind, the magical kind. I teach at a school for magic."

Sinopa raised her eyebrows, trying to hide how offended she was. Was the woman making a mockery of their beliefs? "You go from insulting to psychotic. How dumb do you think we are?" Her tea spoon was beginning to rattle on the table by her tea cup that seemed to be vibrating at a steady pace.

Things always acted up when she got angry or upset.

She quickly hid it by scooping some honey into the cup, holding it still while she stirred the tea.

"You all are clearly spiritual and you must feel like I'm insulting your beliefs but if you would allow me to demonstrate to you that I am far from an old crock pot I do believe you will understand."

Nokomis held up her hand to keep her daughter from kicking the woman out. Sinopa looked curious and Feather had even woken up (that mutt slept like a brick) so she might as well let the woman show them her proof.

Sinopa watched as Minerva drew out a long, ornately decorated stick. What was a stick supposed to prove?

Minerva pointed the stick at Sinopa's legs and muttered a something in some language. And, before everyone's eyes, the pants mended themselves back together. The blood stains were gone. They looked as squeaky clean as she bought them.

Softly, Sinopa whispered, _"Holy fuck."_

Mum sat back in her seat and stared appraisingly at the stern woman. "I apologize for my harsh words earlier." Nokomis echoed her apology.

Sinopa leaned back against the pillow and shrugged, taking a sip of her tea and keeping a firm hold on the still moving spoon. "I didn't say anything directly rude and anything I had said that you might take offensive otherwise was completely justified at the moment. You probably should say I've been accepted to a school for the gifted because of my shortcomings it comes off completely different. And I can't do that," she pointed to her mended pants, "so while I would like to believe it, I think you're mistaken."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So you've never done anything strange when you were upset or angry or feeling any kind of strong emotion?"

Sinopa thought, _I wasn't doing those things though, was I? They just... happened around me, right?_

She wasn't so sure anymore.

Mum spoke up, "You used to make your stuffed animals dance when you were younger. And that time with your father… all of the photos that had him in it suddenly had the glass break right over his face."

Nokomis added her own two cents. "All the times your mother would blow that blasted whistle to get you to run faster and suddenly it wouldn't work anymore."

"Oh, you brat. I knew you had something to do with that."

Sinopa thought back on all the times she had gotten upset or angry. The boy who stole her animals crackers back when she used to go school and the bag had split open as fast as lightning just when he stuck his hand in it and they went all over the grass. There was also the one girl, Mary, who had tripped her and when she went to walk away, all high and mighty, her shoelaces had tied themselves together in front of her eyes and then Mary was tripping too. She had thought she had just imagined those things and when they kept happening she grew scared….

She had made Mum bring her to the doctors because she was seeing things that couldn't have happened… she had read over folklore and rituals, worried that something could be terribly _wrong_ with her. She had cried herself to sleep some nights, shedding her strong front, because she was so worried there was something horribly wrong with her because in all the movies and the books and her people's stories… the _witches_ were the bad guys and she was _so worried_ that she was a _monster_ or a _villain_ because only the _villains_ could do the things that she did and it was only after someone hurt her those things had happened. All those cleanses Nokomis had done over her during the night when she thought she was sleeping and praying to her Gods and the terror that her Mum and Nokomis would abandon her because she was some _kind_ of _freak_ with too many problems. It was relieving that she wasn't some kind of demon or evil spirit and _there was a school for people like her. She wasn't alone_.

"What'd you say that school was called again?"

Minerva smiled and slid an envelope over to her. Sinopa set down her tea and the cup, neither of them moving an inch.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

It was addressed to her in an emerald ink that matched Minerva's robes.

Miss S. Siksika

The Crafty Bedroom

412 Swellen Ell

Linden Street

London

It was parchment, yellowed and heavy and on the back her fingers brushed over strange figures imprinted into wax. She flipped it over, running her thin fingers over what appeared to be a coat of arms. Around a large H were a snake, a badger, a bird (maybe an eagle, she wasn't sure), and a lion.

Breaking it open, careful not to damage the seal, she struggled through reading the letter, the words swimming before her eyes as she pieced it all together, biting on the base of her thumb, and by the end of it her eyes were watering; not from having to piece it all together, although that did cause a headache, nor the pain in her hand (she was far too used to the habit) but from relief that it all wasn't a joke. There were far too many weird words in the Headmaster's achievements for it to be fake, that would take up way too much time, although that might not be the soundest logic in the book, it worked for her.

Sinopa could see her Mum and Nokomis looking worried. She had never told them of her concerns or worries nowadays, not after the doctor's report had come back clean.

"I…" her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, "ther — there's nothing wrong with me?"

"No," Minerva's voice was soft as she reassured the distraught girl.

"Whatsoever?" Clarification. She _needed_ clarification.

"Whatsoever." Minerva's firm tone left no room for argument.

Sinopa quickly tried to wipe away her happy tears as Feather looked up at her worriedly.

 **Hey everybody! This is not my first fan fiction (We won't speak of the others. I pray they're never found, they were awful). Anyways, if you guys have any questions or comments just post them down below, I'd love to read them~ Favorite or follow if you like it and I do appreciate constructive criticism! Love you all!**


	2. Chapter II

"I could sit here and watch everything go by forever and be happy all the same." Sinopa was in awe of Diagon Alley. There was so much going on and it was so bright and colorful and absolutely _magical_.

"Why ever would you want to sit and watch when you could go inside the shops and join the magic?" Minerva asked as she stepped up beside her.

Nokomis was picking at her nails, trying not to look the least bit interested in the _super wicked awesome alley and they were selling dragon spleen and unicorn horns?_

Mum was staring unabashedly at everything. "I could get on board everything here except for your fashion. The robes I can't do." She turned to her daughter. "You promise me that you won't follow their fashion, right? I need my baby girl to slay and she can't do that with their clothes. No offense Minnie."

Minerva sighed. "None taken."

Craning her neck back, Sinopa could just make out the top of a tall, marble building. "That's Gringotts up ahead, right?" She assumed that was the wizarding bank, anyways, putting it together with the description Minerva gave them last week.

Mum and Nokomis didn't hesitate to say yes to allowing Sinopa to attend the school once she expressed the desire to attend. The two women didn't want to rob the girl of the chance to be part of a whole new world. That would be cruel and while they wanted to protect her, shelter her, they knew she could take care of herself. it was terrifying all the same though.

Besides, the look on her face was far too precious to take away.

They walked down the alley, Minerva hiding her smile at the enthusiasm of the family as they peered through the windows at everything. Peering into each window showed them vast arrays of magical items, posters pasted onto the glass advertising that the release of the Nimbus 2000 would be on July 21. The street vendors sold amulets or home made potions. A couple of them had magical plants or by-products of the magical plants.

It was very hard to get Nokomis to move away from that stall, her green thumb flaring up as she traded tips and tricks with the vendor.

Sinopa found it very easy to ignore the looks she got from passersby, thinking they were looking at her skin or her odd, loose gypsy clothing. She was right, though for all the wrong reasons.

Their Native American features and russet skin reminded the witches and wizards of creatures from the forest and high mountains and they would've tried to figure out what kind of half breed she was if it wasn't for the bohemian jade green dress that floated around her lithe figure, screamed "Muggle!" at the top of it's lungs. Although, Mum dressed more… hardcore, with leather and tattoos, unlike Nokomis and Sinopa.

And, of course, the dog.

While none of the members of the Siksaki family ever really noticed how big the mutt was, that didn't mean Feather wasn't _huge_. The family wasn't sure of his ancestry for certain but they assumed a Great Pyrenees was somewhere in his bloodline because of his mane and plume feather tail, not the basis of his name (it was because he was _as light as a feather, Mum!),_ and some even bigger dog because he was just _so_ big. And the wizards made sure to keep their distance so they weren't bowled over by a 100 pounds of happiness.

They were about to enter the intimidating building when the goblin that stood guard stopped them.

"No animals allowed inside."

None of the family was about to argue with the creature. His fingers looked like the creepy things that made terrifying noises when they scratched against your window at two in the morning after you had a horror movie marathon. Suffice to say, if Sinopa had been able to form a thought beside terror, it would've come out in a squeak. Her hand drifted up to her mouth and she began gnawing on her thumb.

"Stay," Mum commanded, looking a bit spooked, but concealed it after a moment. She didn't want to offend the goblin.

Feather parked himself beside the disgruntled creature, his head even with the goblins.

Minerva had explained all about Gringotts, and what could possibly guard the vaults. Sinopa hadn't been very inclined to believe her, although the woman had looked very serious, until she read the inscription beside the inner doors. The message gave her chills.

The family hurried, trading in around a 1,000 pounds (there were possible magic items they could buy, why wouldn't they bring extra money to get it?) and waiting for the teller to convert it. They couldn't see what _exactly_ it was doing and tried not to look to uncomfortable, while Minerva merely looked impatient.

"Would you like it all in Galleons?"

Minerva, thankfully, had explained the currency and how it all worked.

"Err, no. Can we have a Galleons worth of Knuts, and four Galleons worth of Sickles?" Mum asked, her fingers tapping against her thigh. Sinopa played with the braid by her face, still biting the base of her thumb nervously, causing the feather tied to the bottom to brush her neck. She idly wondered how Nokomis did such a good job while she hoped that things would hurry along. It didn't seem like Gringotts was the busiest at seven in the morning.

There was an Ogre-man in the corner though, that seemed interesting. He had a pile of jewels and seemed to be arguing with one of the tellers. From what she could gather those exact jewels had been reported missing a couple of weeks ago.

The Goblin nodded and got to work as Sinopa fished out her wallet from her dresses pockets, ecstatic that she was allowed to handle the money, being the magical one of the family. The goblin handed them a sack of coins and they hurried out with rushed thanks. The Ogre-man was beginning to get angry.

They barely paused to collect Feather, his blackberry eyes shining with excitement as he trotted by Sinopa, who clutched her purse and the coin bag tightly in hand as Minerva led them back to the Leaky Cauldron for an early breakfast.

They sat down at an empty table and glanced nervously around at the sparse witches and wizards seated about. Minerva seemed perfectly at ease, however, among them as she exchanged polite words with a witch a couple of tables away.

A couple of the wizards and witches cast them dirty looks until Minerva sat back down and they averted their glares immediately.

"Tom should be around soon to get our orders and once we've eaten we can shop. There shouldn't be too many families about shopping for supplies, letters are still being sent out, it can take a while for them to get to the farther homes."

They nodded and Sinopa quietly chose out what she wanted (Scrambled eggs, pancakes, with a side of bacon for Feather and a glass of exploding lemonade, whatever that was) and got to work organizing her wizard money into her purse, after admiring the moon and stars design on the clutch. Her hand was still being gnawed on and she had already broken a little bit of the skin.

Before she began, she pulled out her phone to check if anything her notifications, and maybe stop biting her thumb, except the phone turned on for a moment, before the screen went haywire and then black.

"Minerva, what just happened to my phone? " Sinopa asked, staring at her screen in shock. The phone refused to turn back on and she gave up before sliding it back into it's pocket in her clutch. Her thumb drifted back up as her comfort object was taken away.

Minerva, who had been looking over the menu once more, answered, "It must be the heavy magic wards here. It's possible it's just the Leaky Cauldron's wards that are doing it since it's the entrance to Diagon Alley and it should work fine once we're inside Diagon. This is usually what happens when a lot of magic and electronics mix." At Sinopa's panicked glance back at her phone, now hidden by the dusty green covering that was the inside, and from the frantic gnawing on her poor hand, Minerva quickly assured the girl that it should be fine once they were away from all of the heavy, copious amounts of magic.

Sinopa got to work, sorting the coins away into her clutch, moving everything around it while they waited for their food to arrive, which didn't take as long as expected. Wondering why for a moment, Sinopa could've smacked her head as the realization came to her: magic, _of course!_

After they finished eating and had headed to the shops, in which Sinopa wondered why _exploding_ lemonade was a thing after her glass turned on her and Feather panicked at the explosion and fainted. Sinopa wasn't surprised, her dog was spooked easily. They waited till Minerva cast her Renervate or Enervate, it was kind of unclear.

Minerva had shown them around the Alley, helping her pick out worthwhile things to bring to school and pointing out the scam products or the books that only held drivel.

They were in Flourish and Blotts for her school books (No animals allowed inside again) and Sinopa was awestruck by how extensive the bookstore was. Nokomis had dragged Mum to Minerva and politely demanded that she show them where the gardening books were.

Sinopa waved off Minerva and went to explore the shop. She was absolutely intrigued by all the books, despite the fact she couldn't read them without giving herself a massive headache. It wasn't long til she had all of her books, they were under a sign of Hogwarts - First Year Course Books, but had lost sight of Minerva and them.

Deciding to wander around till she spotted them, she was walking down one of the back aisles, passing by a tall redhead with an obvious superiority complex, when her foot bumped something. She watched as the little brown ball rolled away from her and back down from where it came. Sinopa was completely weirded out as she saw two lanky redheads scramble away from the little ball and towards her.

They both grabbed a hold of one of her arms as she clutched her shopping basket tightly in one hand. "You don't want to be here when —" they both cringed when the small ball detonated without a sound and a rush of brown smoke puffed out and towards them as the two boys rushed Sinopa away from the scene of the crime because she could smell something rancid coming from that smoke cloud, something that smelled a lot like dung.

"Oh my — that smells absolutely awful! What is that?" She cried out as they disappeared into another aisle just as she heard someone shout.

"Dungbomb —" One started.

"A malfunctioning one, considering it took so long to go off," the other one finished, aggravated, as they continued through rows of books till they were on the other side of store, Sinopa guessed.

The two dropped her arms and turned to face her as she realized the two boys before her were twins.

"Sorry about that, that was for Perfect Percy —"

"— but it sounded like it still hit him in the end. I'm George —"

"And I'm Fred Weasley." It was like watching a tennis match, with the way they switched between each other and held out their hands for her to shake.

Looking between the two, Sinopa shook her head, a smile on her face as she criss-crossed her arms and shook their hands. " You aren't double crossing me on your names, are you?" She eyed them. "That seems like a mischievous twin thing to do and considering the situation we just ran from that seems entirely too possible. If those are even your actual names."

"Well, well, looks like we got a smart one here, Freddie." The once Fred was now George.

"You got that right, Georgie." _Fred_ slung an arm around George's shoulders.

"Color me confused, uh, I'm Sinopa Siksika."

George's focus was on the basket still in her hands. "You going to Hogwarts? We haven't seen you before."

"It'll be my first year actually. I can't wait, all this magic is so exciting!"

"Muggleborn, nice. Pretty tall for your age, too. Hope you get into Gryffindor, it's the best house, y'know." Fred smirked. By the sound of his words, Sinopa wasn't sure if she wanted to ask why, but she wanted to know more about Gryffindor because Minerva had briefly mentioned all of the houses by name and who the head of house was, but that was it.

"Is that because you're in it?" Sinopa asked innocently.

"That, and because it's for the brave, courageous and daring guys like us!" George jabbed a thumb at himself and his brother, a cocky grin that matched his brothers.

"Well, are you being brave for a reason?" Sinopa asked and their grins flickered.

"What do you mean?" Same time.

"What do you get out of it? Because if you don't get anything out of it, it's just stupidity isn't it?" Sinopa cocked her head as they thought about it.

"That's a very Slytherin way to look at it."

"That's quite true."

"Then Slytherin sounds like where I'm supposed to go."

"Well, you seem really cool so we'll stick by you either way, if, and only if, you take this, and roll it down — which aisle Georgie boy?" Fred asked, handing Sinopa a dungbomb.

"Four aisles down on the left."

"And _what_ is so special about you that I want you to stick by me?"

"Trust us, you want us on your side." George seemed very sure of his words and Sinopa couldn't see why she wouldn't but she shrugged and figured that having them on her side couldn't hurt at all.

"Hand it over and if I get in trouble, watch out."

"You'll be fine," Fred said, waving off Sinopa's concerns.

Five minutes later, Sinopa was trying to tell the angry, older boy (that was so obviously the twins older brother now that she was face to face with him) that she didn't know _what_ had _happened_ and she was _so_ _sorry_.

The cherry on the cake was when she politely informed him that he could use a shower and he stormed off, his face redder than his hair.

"Goodbye sir! Again, I'm really sorry!" She shout-whispered after him, raising a hand to wave goodbye till he rounded the corner and Sinopa could swear that steam was rising out of his ears.

"Did you see his face, George?"

"The shower comment — absolutely priceless!"

"Are we good?"

"We're good."

"Consider yourself in our good graces for Hogwarts. We'll watch your back and you'll watch ours." George nodded to Fred's words and added on: "It would be good to have a Slytherin on our side."

"Fred! George! Where are you two?" And a portly woman rounded the corner that Sinopa had watched the other redhead round and frowned at the two boys in front of the girl. They tensed up and an uneasy grin spread across their faces.

"Mum!"

"How nice to see you!"

"Look who we were helping!" George swung an arm around Sinopa's slim shoulders and pulled her close.

"A sweet little Muggleborn!" Fred chirped as he ruffled up Sinopa's hair, nearly ruining the braid that ran from her forehead to behind her ear, like half a headband.

"Y'see, she couldn't find one of her books on the supply list —"

"— and we, as good samaritans, helped her find it!"

The woman looked at Sinopa in obvious disbelief. And Sinopa, a little bewildered by what had just happened, decided to put on her best acting face and go along with it. All her hard work from earlier would go down the drain if she outed them now anyways and she wasn't about to lose allies in an unknown place.

"Oh yes! They've been ever such a delight! I would've been completely lost without their help. And _so_ completely polite! You've raised such wonderful children," the older woman beamed at the two still smiling twins who had eased up, "although," her smile faded, "I met an older boy of yours, I do believe, and he was awfully rude to me because something had gone off in the aisle here and he _blamed_ me. The boys comforted me out of my tears. Ah, complete gentleman!" Sinopa cooed to her and her smile renewed itself. "You must be a wonderful mum, absolutely _perfect_!"

So Sinopa was laying it on a little thick but the boys mum had a pretty smile!

"Oh thank you deary, you're too kind! Anyways, boys, we have to go, Ron found all of his books so we better get going. I hope you have a good day, you're such a sweet girl!"

"We'll be with you in a moment Mum!"

"We need to grab one more book!"

And they all waved her off with a smile till she passed around the corner.

"That was right out of a cliché, badly written book online and I'm ashamed to have taken part in it," Sinopa muttered as she turned and faced the twins.

"Ah, but don't those books usually have it in there because the chapter, while necessary, was kind of boring?" George wondered.

"That's if they're written well," Sinopa shot back.

"Did you not see what you did there? That was done well, you have to admit. Finely crafted!" Fred smiled.

Sinopa sighed but shrugged. "It was okay I guess."

"Anyways, we have to go but it was nice meeting you. Also, we were planning on pranking the absolute shite out of you once we got to school —"

"—regardless of house —"

"— but I guess we can't do that now because you saved our arses."

George let out a pitiful moan. "We had already planned so many things!"

Sinopa's brow furrowed. "We were separated for like five minutes, what the fuck you guys. We just learned each other's names!"

"You've met our mum!"

"We're best friend level now!"

"Ew, no."

"Ew?"

"Hurtful."

"You guys decided to prank the _absolute shite out of me_ , if I remember correctly."

"But then we said we couldn't, if you remember right."

"It's the thought that counts." Sinopa added an eyeroll so they couldn't miss the sarcasm. They opened their mouths (probably to sass her back) when suddenly….

"Sinopa, is that you? Are you sassing someone?"

"Oooh, love, I'm so proud. That's my daughter, Minerva. I taught her everything she knows."

"Oh, she'll be an absolute joy to teach then."

"Fucking ice cold, Minnie,' Sinopa whispered and held out her hand for a high five from the twins, who slapped it in agreement.

"Great teacher."

"Our absolute favorite."

"Well, goodbye boys. See you at Hogwarts, I guess?"

"See you then." Fred fingered the owl feather at the bottom of her braid in slight interest.

"You're a real joy." George winked mockingly just as Minerva and the rest of them rounded the corner.

"Oh hello. Who are you two boys?" Mum asked as she stepped forward toward Sinopa's hug.

"We were the two boys she was sassing earlier."

"She was very good at it." Mum smiled in pride.

"Of course she was, she _is_ my daughter. She learned from the very best."

George grinned and suddenly Sinopa knew why she wanted them as allies.

"So you're her mum."

"Yeah, I am. Alsoomse Siksika."

"It's very nice to meet you." It was almost creepy how they could say it in sync.

As Mum nodded the twins looked at her and mouthed, _best friends_.

 **Heya everybody. Up at the top there is something I made, tell me watcha think about the chapter down below and the next one should be out soon. Also, if you guys have a problem with the modern technology and references, I can take it out if it bothers you too much, but I always like it when stories have it because it makes me laugh so I thought I'd put it in mine. Next chapter is Hogwarts and things pick up because I know it's been kind of slow but I needed to introduce everybody and let you get a feel for her and her attitude. Love ya!**


	3. Chapter III

"Did you check your trunk?" Mum asked Sinopa as she stepped into her room. Sinopa poked her head out of the tent-like opening to her loft bed just so Mum could see her roll her eyes.

"Yeah. Then I double-checked it. Then I triple-checked it. Then I went to bed. Then I woke up at two in the morning to you checking it." Sinopa glared at her. "Then I checked it, _again_ , after you went back to bed. And, _once more_ , when I woke up this morning to Nokomis checking it, I straightened it out because she left it as an absolute mess and checked it again and I actually found something missing." Sinopa waited for it.

"See! I told you to check it again! I told you! And you forgot something!" Mum looked triumphant as her daughter climbed down the ladder and sat down in her favorite arm chair in the area beneath it.

"Yeah, it was a pair of socks."

"Oh."

There was an awkward moment of silence as Mum avoided Sinopa's judging gaze, her bright brown eyes alight with laughter as Mum whistled and scuffled her feet.

"Your hair's not done yet, do you… mind if I do it?" Mum asked, taking a couple more steps into the room.

"SINOPA, THE OWL THAT WAS SOOOOOO PRETTY IS AN ABSOLUTE MENACE! YOU COULDN'T HAVE CHOSEN THE NICE, SOMEWHAT UGLY ONE YOU VAIN BRAT!" Nokomis screamed from downstairs where there was a fluttering of feathers and a squawk.

Mum and Sinopa winced.

Sinopa turned to her mother, drawing her legs up underneath her as she gestured to the beads and feather left out on her desk. "Help yourself," she murmured, wondering why her mother wanted to do this. Her mum was all for expressing yourself any way you wanted but she showed a little disdain towards her sense of fashion that was more loose and airy than her own tight jeans and leather jackets. But nevertheless, she wasn't about to pass up this one last moment with her mother that she wouldn't get for a while.

Slowly, methodically, her mother pulled her hair back into a dutch braid similar to the one she wore weeks back at Diagon Alley; except this one was done much more artfully than her own. From time to time, she would stop and do something to the hairstyle and continue back on it. Closing her eyes, Sinopa thought back to the last time Mum braided her hair or did something like this. It must've been years, Nokomis didn't even do this for her since, what? Her ninth birthday? Yet, here she was, about to be twelve in exactly a month. It felt nice, her mother's fingers in her hair, as short as it was, pulling it away from her face.

It was so soothing.

Unfortunately, the moment didn't last. It was, in fact, cut short by another scream from downstairs in, from the pots and pans falling, the kitchen.

"I WILL ROAST YOU, YOU BLOODY BIRD! I WILL PLUCK YOUR FEATHERED ARSE AND COOK YOU SO GOOD OTHER OWLS WILL COME AND EAT YOU!"

"Well there goes that moment," Mum grumbled, tying off the feather at the beaded end, hidden behind her ear.

"Thanks, Mum. I appreciate it," Sinopa mumbled as Mum left, her black, high heeled boots clicking against the floor as Sinopa drew a hand over her cheeks, a light shade of red across them as the feather came to rest on her collarbone, her pink lips in a small, embarrassed smile as she walked over to her mirror for something to do to check her clothes.

She brushed off dust on her tribal patterned shorts and fiddled with the matching blue drawstring of it and tightening it before she untucked the loose white tank from the back and wondered how in the world it got all tucked up like that. The braid Mum had done pulled the dark hair away from her face and brought the attention to her eyes, with the different colored beads in it bringing out undertones she didn't know she had. She shot her reflection a cheeky smile, double finger guns with a click of her tongue, and moved away to put on her matching white, lace up sandals before checking downstairs to make sure her owl (who she actually did only get because he was the prettiest one of them all and apparently very mean and manipulative — according to the shop attendant at Eeylops, though they seemed a bit bitter in general) was still drawing all the attention to himself.

Satisfied he was, Sinopa snuck into the small backyard where Feather was confined too so he wouldn't throw a fit about his Mummy leaving without him, blending into the shadows as she coaxed (he didn't need much, he was practically her baby) him up to her bedroom. She wished she could say she was surprised that Mum and Nokomis didn't notice her doing this, but they had always been a bit blind and Monochrome was good at his job.

"Okay, now, Feather, I know this'll seem really weird and I'm really sorry but I can't survive Hogwarts without my best buddy so I need you to hop inside this basket I bought in that Menagerie store without Mum or Nokomis or even Minerva noticing, it was almost offensive, I had to have been gone for, like, ten minutes, but — anyways — I'm smuggling you into Hogwarts. I'm gonna explain this to you because no matter _what_ Nokomis or Mum say, I'm downright positive you can understand every word I'm saying."

Feather nodded at her, sitting patiently on the floor and waiting for an order, furthering Sinopa's belief that he could understand her.

"Okay, so, you paying attention?" Feather nodded again. "This basket here is supposed to fit one animal of any size below a bear, apparently they put the restraint because wizards started using them to smuggle dragons and what not, inside of it and it should be weightless. Or nearly. Can't remember her exact words but something along those lines. You're smaller than a bear right?" Sinopa decided not to think about it, Feather was quite big and she hoped that wouldn't push the restraints to their limit.

The basket was simple, one you would use for a picnic, if a little small. Sinopa was planning on using the excuse that she had food packed away inside it (food was in her school bag, also bought in Diagon Alley, slightly bigger on the inside, nothing like some intense extension charm she had heard about, and wow! They had spent a lot of money there now that she thought about it because that basket wasn't cheap and neither were her school supplies or her new trunk and she was gonna stop thinking about it now and go with the thought that they were _investments_ ).

Pulling open the peaked two piece lid, she revealed the soft, padded interior of the basket, suitable for any animal. The basket didn't look big enough to fit Feather's hindquarters in.

Sinopa gestured to the basket and Feather simply stared at her.

" _Please_ Feather! Do you want to be without me for —" Sinopa counted the months on her fingers really fast, "— eight months?"

Needing no more prodding, Feather jumped inside and was pleasantly surprised to find he had enough room to curl up inside and did so, staring up at Sinopa happily, his tongue lolling out. She was wondering if that had looked as weird as it seemed and she was completely normal or that it was something completely different. She decide not to think about _that_ either and shut the basket, not before leaning down and kissing Feather on the head with the command, "Quiet".

"Hey, Love? You ready to go? Did you eat breakfast? Because if you didn't you don't have time to now if you want to get there on time to meet Minnie!"

Sinopa cringed at Minerva's nickname and wondered when the Professor would snap and hex her Mum for calling her that. The woman, she quickly learned, was not one to put up with such childish nicknames.

"Yeah! I'll be down in a moment! And before you ask, I already said goodbye to Feather, he fell asleep so don't bother him!"

Hoping that the lie paid off, Sinopa braced herself and picked up the basket to find that it weighed as much as if a cat was in it. Or even a lot of food. If you didn't think about it. You know what, she just wasn't gonna let anyone hold it.

Swinging her school bag over her shoulder and getting a firm grasp on the trunk handle and the picnic basket, she began to lug them out of her room slowly. The trunk was so heavy that if she wasn't already carrying two other things, she could've lifted it, _no problem_ , but being as that wasn't how it was, she decided to fix the situation a little bit to her advantage.

"Mum! Do you think you can carry my trunk?" Not waiting for a response, she dropped it with a loud 'thud' and continue walking, not even casting a backward glance at it as she walked past her Mum, who shot her a look which she innocently smiled back at, and down the steps to see her Nokomis waiting for her.

"A-okay, deary, I just want to give you a word of advice."

"I will refrain from physically or mentally harming anyone."

"Oh please, if they deserve it, rip into them and don't get caught — but that wasn't what I was gonna say." Nokomis smiled at her granddaughter, who looked so happy, and slightly confused, and cupped her cheeks in her weathered old palms. "You are a beautiful, talented young girl who is blossoming into an even more extravagant young woman. Remember, your mother and I taught you to _breathe fire_. We taught you to take no shit, take no prisoners, and take the world. And I'm proud we did that." She drew in a deep breath and Sinopa noticed she looked a little troubled. "But we forgot to tell you that you don't have to be strong all the time because that can seriously hurt you. We forgot to tell you that you're not immortal or untouchable, as much as we all act like it, you _aren't_. So I want to tell you, before we leave and you're gone for eight months and your mother is too preoccupied with that stupidly heavy trunk of yours that it's okay if you get a little bruised and a little battered. It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay if you get knocked down as long as you pick yourself up and rub a little salve onto those bruises."

Sinopa summed it up. "It's okay to be human."

"It's okay to be human." Nokomis nodded, before adding, "But remember, you're a girl."

"And girls kick ass."

"And girls kick major ass," Mum confirmed as she came down behind Sinopa, carrying her trunk. "Now move, so I can get this out to the car because it's heavy as fuck."

"I'll grab that ruddy owl," Nokomis hissed and walked to the kitchen where she had finally, with Alsoomse's help, shoved the vain bird into his cage with a mirror. Nokomis still couldn't believe they had to buy a _bird_ a _mirror_.

Ten minutes later they arrived at King's Cross Station in a hurry, and they rushed through the train station to see Minerva standing beside the barrier between the platforms nine and ten, like she said she would be.

"Well come along now ladies! The train leaves in twenty minutes and you want to be in early to get a seat, do you not?" Panting, they nodded and listened to Minerva's instructions until —

"You want my baby girl — my dear sweet daughter whom I love and would never put her in harm's way —"

"Morning marathons, taekwondo —"

Mum raised her voice over Sinopa's and repeated herself louder, "— _whom I love_ —"

"—karate, taekwondo competitions, karate competitions —"

"— _and would never put in harm's way_ —"

"— gymnastics, gymnastic competitions —"

"— and you want her to run _full force at a wall_?"

"Haven't you made me to that before?" Sinopa hissed in pain. "What'd you smack me for? "

"It was for your self defense classes."

"Speaking of which, I'm still taking those along with karate and taekwondo and it seems a bit redundant."

"It teaches you how to use your fighting skills in real world settings!"

"I think you're trying to make me a ninja. "

"I won't deny it."

"Is that why you taught me how to pick locks and hotwire a car?"

"Nah, that was me reminiscing about the old days. I can't wait for you to get a tattoo."

Nokomis interjected, asking Minerva (who was a bit horrified at the picking locks and tattoo thing, she hadn't a clue what hotwiring a car was) the real question that needed to be addressed, "Why does she need to run into a wall?"

Nadie hoped she seemed like she cared because all she really wanted to do was get rid of the bird who was glaring daggers at her. If only technology worked at Hogwarts. If only she didn't love her granddaughter so much and wanted to keep in touch with her.

"Thank you, Nadie." Minerva heaved a sigh of relief, which she tended to do often in the Siksika family's presence. "It's the way onto platform nine and three-quarters where the train to Hogwarts is."

"It seems more like platform nine and one-quarter or platform nine and a half. Are you sure it's platform nine and _three-quarters_?"

"Just run through the wall and trust me." Minerva should've let Severus take this family, that would've been a real treat for him, but nooo, they had to hate men —

"Of course I trust you. You've led us this far without a single misstep. Of course we trust you, Professor!" Sinopa said earnestly, flashing the woman a megawatt smile as she raced toward the barrier with her trolley, Monochrome still glaring back at Nokomis. Nokomis glared back just as viciously.

"She called me Professor." Minerva was a tad bit stunned as she watched the girl disappear through the barrier.

"Yeah, don't worry. This is the last time you'll ever hear it out of her mouth. She's _my_ daughter, don't forget."

On the other side of the barrier, Sinopa was absolutely stunned by the view before her. She wished she could take it all in, but the watch on her wrist told her she only had ten minutes left. Turning her head, she watched as her entourage stepped through. Minerva waved at her before she turned, her wand in hand, and disappeared from view.

Sinopa blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things while Mum and Nokomis caught up to her.

"Okay, love, remember to write to us —"

"— with that awful bird you just had to get," Nokomis grumbled as Monochrome squawked back at her.

"And take care of yourself and do all your exercises, I'll send you a new schedule every month, and practice your everything, because you don't do any homework you're given anyways."

"Mum, it's magic homework, of course I'm gonna do it."

"Anyways, baby girl, we love you and we will stand by you so if the whole world seems to hate you, you got us on your side."

"And Feather, boy, that dog is going to be miserable till you come back."

"Haha, yeah…" Sinopa mumbled, trying to hide the basket behind her on the trolley.

Mum pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged the girl close to her. "Kick ass," she advised.

"If you need, too," Nokomis reminded her as she shoved her daughter out of the way and pulled Sinopa into a spine crushing hug.

Waving goodbye to the two of them, Sinopa started pushing the trolley towards the train (passing by a boy with a humongous spider in a box, no thank you, she was not ashamed to admit she walked a lot faster after that) and to the last compartment, as she suspected that one would be the emptiest. She turned to look at her trunk and subconsciously began chewing at the base of her thumb. Her mother and grandmother had always scolded her for biting her nails and so she had gravitated down her hand till she reached that point. Neither of her family members cared about that, as long as it wasn't her nails.

Sinopa was a firm believer that her entire family, including herself, needed to get their priorities straight.

"Why, Fred, can you believe it?"

"It's an innocent little Muggleborn, in need of our help. I cannot believe it!"

Sinopa smiled as she turned and faced them. "Why, it's my favorite people in the world!" She cheered, drawing a bit of attention to the trio. "Thanks so much for offering to carry my stuff onto the train, you guys are so kind!" She cooed, grabbing her basket off the trolley and heading into a compartment as she heard the twins sigh and reach for her trunk because they couldn't _not_ after what all she had said, they'd look like gits!

Plopping the basket down on the seat, she turned to the boy sitting on the opposite seat and stuck her hand out. "Hiya, this is super unorthodox and stuff but I'm nearly positive that all the other compartments are taken by people who already have friends so I was wondering if I could sit with you and be your friend," Sinopa breathed out in a rush, unsure how people went about making friends. She was positive the twins were messing with her with the _best friend_ stuff they were pulling and really just didn't care about her but she was determined to make at least one actual friend and the boy in front of her didn't look like he had any room to turn down a friendship if his broken glasses and too-big clothes were anything to go by.

Besides, her Mum told her boys were okay, men were the gits and jerks.

"Here's your trunk!" The two twins puffed as they slid into the compartment and put it away. "Do you want us to grab your other things too, your Highness?" George asked, raising his eyebrows sarcastically as Fred wondered what exactly she had all pack in that ruddy trunk of hers.

"Why, if you insist." Sinopa batted her eyelashes as the two grumbled and left the compartment. Yet, they still flashed Sinopa grins as they left, to show her no hard feelings were kept.

 _What is their endgame?_ Sinopa couldn't help but wonder.

The boy still hadn't said anything but he took her hand which was still out and was shaking a little bit now.

"My name's Harry Potter, what's your name?" Harry asked as she took her hand back, sitting down next to her basket.

Why did that name sound familiar?

"Sinopa Siksika," she murmured, bringing her hand to her mouth and chewing on the base of her thumb again. She was so nervous without her Mum or Nokomis anywhere nearby because they were her safety net and now her safety net was gone. Perhaps this school _was_ a bad idea….

"I'd love to be your friend!" And he _smiled_ so sincerely that Sinopa couldn't help but smile back, withdrawing her hand as the twins came back and Fred slid Monochrome by what could only be Harry's owl and George gave her her bag back.

"Nice trick you pulled out there, very cunning."

"We approve," Fred told her as George flashed her a thumbs up.

"See ya, Sinopa, Harry!" The two called out as they left.

Sinopa got to talking to Harry more and found out he had no clue of the wizarding world either. "Oh! That's such a relief, I was worried I'd be the only one!" Sinopa said, relieved as they glanced out the window to see the Weasleys close to the train.

Sinopa noticed the longing on his face as they looked at the family, who, despite the arguing going on within the group, it was clear to see how much they loved one another. It was clear as the day was bright. Sinopa wondered if that's how her family looked.

"They look really happy, don't they?" She remarked idly as she watched the youngest boy jerk away from Mrs. Weasley.

"Yeah, they do," Harry mumbled as they continued talking and the twins came up, and they started talking about someone famous named Harry Potter.

Sparing a quick glance at her Harry Potter she shrugged it off, noticing how he seemed to cringe back into his seat. She wasn't about to ruin a new found friendship over something she had little to no knowledge on. Things were precarious, she had to watch where she stepped with something fragile like this.

It didn't take long for the Weasley's to disperse, hearing the train start and hurrying onto it as Harry and she sat awkwardly in the compartment and Sinopa fiddled with the latch to let out Feather, wondering if the boy across from her turned out to be a tattle tale.

Picking up the basket, she sat down beside him and gave him her most intense stare as she opened up the basket between them. Feather poked his nose out as she dared him to say to say something.

"Is that a dog?" Harry asked as Feather ventured further out of the basket, his whole head coming into view.

"Yes."

"But the list…" he trailed off as she raised an eyebrow.

"I saw a tarantula earlier. I mean a massive one, so a well trained dog should be no problem. I certainly hope you don't have a problem with him." Realizing what kind of mood that created she added, "He can do tricks."

Harry blinked a couple of times before shrugging it off. He had no clue about all of the rules at Hogwarts and besides….

"Can you show me one?"

"Sure!" She chirped as the compartment door started opening. The talent show was put on hold as Sinopa immediately shoved the dog back down inside the basket and slammed the top shut, coughing loudly, and a bit late, to cover up Feather's whining as one of the Weasley boys entered.

She cooed through the basket as the boys introduced themselves to each other, her throwing out a quick "Hi, my names Sinopa, nice to meet you…" and yadda yadda; Feather's feelings were hurt and because it was her fault, she felt the need to take responsibility for it. It probably hadn't felt good to get his head hit like that and he'd been stuck in the basket for longer than she expected.

Time seemed to fly by quick as she studied Ron. He seemed a little uncomfortable and she remembered all the siblings surrounding him and some of what he said to Harry while they were getting to know each other. Eyeing the rat in his lap, she slowly opened the picnic basket once more and Feather wasted no time in launching out from the cramped space and flopping down on the ground for belly rubs. Sinopa wasted no time in giving him one as Ron sent Harry a look, who only shrugged once more.

"Can he do tricks?"

It was fun, hanging out with the two boys Sinopa decided as Ron told the two about the wizarding world and offered to show them a spell in between all the candy wrappers. She refused to eat any of them, her mother's health advice echoing in her head as she pulled out the food she brought from home.

"Is that your wand?" Sinopa asked in awe as Ron's ears turned red, embarrassed by the scrutiny on his brother's old wand that looked more than a little worse for wear.

Sinopa didn't care about that, however as she dug her wand out of her bag, proudly showing off the hazel wood wand. "We have the same core, you said Unicorn hair right?" Ron nodded as she gushed over it till he noticed something at the end of her wand.

"What's that? At the end there?" He asked, noticing it looked like a rock of some sort.

"Oh, it's a crystal! I asked Mr. Ollivander about them cause I asked why people need to use wands and he explained it all, you know a focusing instrument, makes the spells more powerful, stuff like that!" She ignored Ron and Harry's blank looks as she continued on, Feather asleep at her feet. "And I asked him about tying crystals to the ends because crystals have special uses and aspects and stuff and he said he had thought about it but he never really did anything with them because he didn't have the greatest understanding about it, y'know? But in my people's beliefs and stuff we've worked out at home I asked if it would do any harm if I tried it and he told me to be careful but since I've got the perfect wand for it or whatever, something about the combination of hazel wood and unicorn hair, it shouldn't cause any problems!" She sucked in some air after her tangent and looked at the dazed boys before her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"I am so sorry!" She breathed. "I know people don't care about this kind of stuff and it's really boring and stupid so I'm really sorry!" She squeaked, rushing to put away her wand in her bag.

It was Ron who spoke up first. "What do you mean by your people?"

Sinopa bit her lip as she remembered how all these questions end up.

 _Savages_ , a part of her mind whispered, reminding her of the cruel taunts that filled her early school life.

"I'm, uh, Native American, a whole bunch of tribes mish mashed into me," she whispered, her face turned away from them as her thumb drifted to her mouth. She instantly began to gnaw away, waiting for the insults to come.

"Why do you live in England then?" Harry asked, curious as to why she looked so worried..

"After all the settlers came to North America and kicked my ancestors off their land, they went to England to get a second chance, since they weren't able to accomplish anything in America."

"Why weren't they?"

Where were the mean words?

"They didn't look upon them kindly and made them into slaves. England, where they came from, ironically treated them better." Frowning after the little history lesson she asked as rudely as possible, "Why do you care? People usually never care, so, out with it!" She demanded from Harry, who looked like he had something to ask again. Ron was confused by what _had_ to be weird muggle customs.

Harry frowned and scratched his head, "Out with what? The only thing I was gonna ask is what kind of crystal is on your wand."

Sinopa's eyes widened. She stuttered as she answered. "It's a pointed crystal quartz."

And that was the end of that as the compartment door opened with a sad boy looking for his toad. They sent him off after letting him pet Feather on the head to cheer him up. Sinopa couldn't help but feel bad for the boy and was just about to go and look for him, offer him her help as Ron went back to showing them the spell he mentioned earlier.

Sinopa jumped as the door was slid open behind her, so entranced by the aspect of seeing a spell in action from a kid who's been around it for his whole life. Minerva had only used a couple spells around her, and she could never quite make out the words that she would say. Turning her head to figure out who, exactly was there, she was caught off guard and her mouth went dry. Her curly hair was the most gorgeous shade of brown and her lips pulled back into the most endearing smile revealing shining, white teeth.

She was already in her robes, which caused Sinopa to admire her enthusiasm to get to the school.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" She asked, which lead Sinopa's eyes back to the boy behind her. She must've gotten out of her compartment to help the boy, how kind of her. "Neville's lost one."

Sinopa smacked Ron at his irritated tone, irritated herself at the boy.

Sinopa had the beginnings of a crush on who she learned to be Hermione Granger, very academic and yes, a little bit bossy, but Sinopa didn't really care as she introduced herself to her when Hermione asked her name.

"My name? Oh, my name is Sinopa Siksika! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She chirped as she held out her hand for a shake. She was bright red by the end of the handshake.

When the girl got up to leave, to continue helping Neville, she presumed, she scrambled up behind her hurriedly.

"Boys, watch Feather for me, will you?" She asked in a rush as she left the compartment after her. She knew Feather wouldn't be a problem, curled up into a tiny ball under the candy and the candy wrappers that you couldn't even see him, and he wouldn't be doing anything while asleep, except maybe fart. And Monochrome was flirting with Hedwig, so he was taken care of.

"Hey, Hermione, Neville, do you mind if I help you look for the toad?"

Neville went off looking on his own while she stuck with Hermione, whom she chatted with to get to know more about her.

"You're born of two, oh what do they call it… muggles too, right?" She asked excitedly as the walked and continued to look for the toad.

"Mhm, my parents are dentists, what about yours?"

"My mum is a personal trainer for running, people come to her for Olympic training and stuff, or a really rich housewife who wants to look hot till she's seventy to get back at her cheating husband."

"Wow. What about your dad?"

Sinopa scratched the back of her neck. "He's not in the picture anymore, but he does own a line of gyms."

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized sincerely as they continued asking people if they'd seen a toad. No one had. Sinopa was just a smidge to happy about that as she got to talk to Hermione longer.

"Nah, it's fine. Mum has a crush on my karate sensei, so it's all good."

"You take karate? I tried that when I was younger but I only ever got the punches down."

"Yeah, I take taekwondo, too. My mum is trying to make me into a ninja."

"Wow." Hermione blinked a bit then giggled. "A ninja? Are you any good at it?"

"I certainly hope so, I've been in gymnastics, karate, and taekwondo since I was three so that'd be a lot of time wasted."

"What about school? Wouldn't that had been hard to juggle? I don't know what I'd do without school."

"After a couple years of primary school the bullying got to be too much, so Mum took me out of it. I'm home schooled now, or at least I used to be, since I'm going to Hogwarts now. And I won't be in gymnastics for too much longer anyways, I'm getting too tall for it to be practical and while I liked it, it's gotten a bit tedious because I don't care much for competitions or anything."

"Oh, I am so excited about it, I don't know if you heard me earlier, but I memorized all of the course books!" And that's how it went, till they slowly migrated back down the train, regretfully informing Neville that no one had seen his toad.

They were just on their way back to Sinopa's compartment when they got shoved aside by a group of boys running for their lives and screaming about some monster.

"Well that was quite rude." Sinopa nodded to Hermione's mutter, dusting off her clothes and helping Hermione off the ground.

"Really, an 'Excuse me', would've sufficed."

They made it back to her compartment a moment later to see Feather on his feet and growling and snarling, looking vicious till he saw his owner. Then, he rolled onto his back to ask for a belly rub. Ron was holding his rat by the tail, who looked to be asleep.

While Hermione asked the boys what had happened, Sinopa got to her knees and gave Feather a rub down, cooing to him how he was such a good protector. Hermione had offered to walk her back so she could change and grab her robes and they would meet up again before the welcoming feast at the she had told her about from "Hogwarts: A History".

"Bye Hermione!" Sinopa called to the girl as she left, getting a sweet smile in return. Sinopa swooned the tiniest bit as she ignored Ron.

She grabbed her school bag and ushered Feather back into his basket as she told the boys goodbye and went to change into her own robes. She remembered when she was getting fitted for her uniform, she had asked Minerva why they wear robes. Minerva had answered her question quite happily, as it was probably the only smart question that came out of her mouth the entire time.

 _"Our fashion did not grow like yours, we cut ourselves off from the muggle world ages ago and this is what they wore when we did and we kept to it. It makes it a bit hard with the gap and all, sometimes."_

She never got around to asking what gap there was, but she guessed it was between the people who had known about magic all their lives and the ones with no knowledge of it, or just between witches and muggles in general. Maybe it had something to do with what the twins kept calling her, a Muggleborn. She hoped it wasn't some kind of insult.

Of course, she figured out the real reason when they went and grabbed quills and rolls of parchment.

 _Aesthetic_.

She understood, most of the stuff and the way it was set up in the house was for it, because of Mum.

She found a bathroom, slipped by some older girls and changed into the uniform, the plain black robes slipping on quite easily. She was a bit concerned by the breezy feeling of it and was glad she had opted to wear such loose, comfortable shorts and a tank top (which she was thankful that she'd be going into a place where they don't really recognize normal, er, muggle clothing because they were really, _really_ close to pajamas) because she simply pulled the robes on over it. She struggled with her strappy sandals and pulled on a pair of ballet flats (Mum refused to buy the regulation school shoes and put them back when Minerva wasn't looking). Freshening up and fixing her hair in the mirror after she pulled on the hat, she quickly left the bathroom because the girls in there were doing their make up and had it all over the counter. She wasn't about to mess up anyone doing their faces, her mother had taught her that lesson ages ago.

When she stepped back out into the hallway, she was caught off guard by the rush of people pushing her out of the train and the voice overhead telling her to leave her stuff on the train, it'll be brought up to the school separately. She panicked momentarily about Feather, Monochrome, and her trunk, but decided to trust in the school and remember to sneak some food away for Feather.

Sinopa, who was gnawing on the base of her thumb frantically, followed the loud voice calling for first years to a humongous she was ashamed to have forgotten her manners in front of the man and just squeaked as she was ushered by him to the dark and creepy forest. Honestly, she wasn't spooked by it. She had been much more terrified of everything else so far and the forest on either side of her, while it oozed darkness, was much more at home with her. She knew how to deal with dark and creepy forests, she had been forced on many a camping trip with her Nokomis.

Soon, they arrived at a little beach with boats and she was unsure of which to get on. She couldn't spot Hermione or Harry or Ron anywhere she looked and they were getting full fast. She rushed over to a boat with three people in it and was about to scramble in very ungracefully when a hand was offered to her, one of the boys standing up. She couldn't make out a lot of his features but she took his hand anyway and climbed into the boat gratefully, much more gracefully than she would've otherwise.

"Thank you!" She told him as she set her bag on her lap, the boat rocking as he sat beside her. The boys in the back didn't say anything.

"You're welcome," he mumbled as they set off and the view was gorgeous. The castle was something out of a disney movie and she couldn't take her eyes off of it for a moment. If the boy had tried to start a conversation with her or anything of the like, she wouldn't have even noticed.

They had to duck their heads when they went into a long tangle of vines, and she was a tad bit peeved that she had to basically have her head between her legs to be on the same level of everyone else's but that disappeared when they were floating through the tunnel and there seemed to be little glowing flowers braided into the vines, so dim you could barely see them.

They slowly floated into a little bay with docks and lanterns to better light everything and she saw the guy who had helped her into the boat. The two boys in the back continued to say nothing as they clambered out but the one who helped her into the boat gave her another gleaming white smile and a pale, helping hand, allowing her to notice the way his gelled platinum hair shone in the light. His silver eyes flashed as he stepped back and pulled him with her.

He was all the colors she wasn't and she couldn't help but find him really pretty in the light of the lanterns.

"Thank you, once again!"

"You're welcome, once again," he laughed a little but then stopped and seemed to close off in front of her, his silver eyes turning to the color of Nokomis' slate hair.

He immediately took off after his friends, leaving Sinopa to stare at his back as he rushed away.

"Alright, I wonder what triggered that." Sinopa fixed her hat on her head as she and the rest of the first years got ushered by the large man up a flight of stairs and onto a great big lawn with a massive set of stairs.

A moment later, the colossal doors were cracked open to reveal Minerva and Sinopa breathed a sigh of relief at the comfort of such a familiar face, no matter how stern and forbidding she looked at the moment as she thanked the large man for bringing them up there. Oooh, if only she could hear better, she might've been able to catch his name!

They walked into a hall that went so far up, she could only see black. They were led into a side hall next to what had to be where the rest of the school was, considering they could hear them chattering away.

Minerva gave them the speech about their houses that she had already given Sinopa, so she felt justified to zone out during it, trying to find Hermione. It shouldn't have been hard, she was taller than all of the other students, she was easily even with the twins in height.

Finally, she spotted Hermione by her bushy hair and slipped through the crowd with an ease that defied her height.

"Hey Hermione," she whispered as Minerva left so they could get tidied up. Sinopa had a feeling she had spotted Harry's wild hair or the dirt on Ron's nose.

"How do I look?" Hermione asked nervously.

Sinopa straightened the hat on her hair, and straightened her robes out. "Lookin' fine, 'Mione!" She winked. "What house do you want to get into, I don't think you told me that on the train."

"I think I mentioned it but I was talking really fast so you might not have caught it. But I want to get into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw!" Hermione beamed. Sinopa blushed as one of her hands began to fidget with her feather.

"Ambitious, aren't ya?" She teased as Hermione bounced up and down.

"What house do you want to get into, from what you told me, you seem like a sure fire Gryffindor from what you told me about your hobbies earlier."

She opened her mouth to answer when she was cut off by Ron's voice behind her as he said something about fighting a troll. Hermione heard him too and grew nervous as well. Everything seemed to be building up and fighting a troll? Minerva hadn't mentioned anything about that!

Sinopa about fainted when she saw the ghosts. She was too stunned to pick up what they were talking about but the fat ghost told them he was in Hufflepuff.

Minerva came in to tell them to shoo as Sinopa gained her bearings and leaned down to Hermione's height. "If he went to Hogwarts, I don't think we have to worry about fighting a troll."

They were soon ushered out where the rest of the kids were and Sinopa was absolutely entranced by the night sky. She barely acknowledged Hermione who told her it was charmed. She was really loving magic.

She just hoped she didn't learn about the dark side of it any time soon.

Hermione gently shut Sinopa's mouth after the Sorting Hat (her grandmother would've loved that hat and Mum would wish it wasn't so dirty and maybe a bit more "punk" as she called it) sang it's song. Sinopa quickly whispered a thanks as people got called up in alphabetical order. She can easily say she didn't pay a single attention to their names, caught up in whispering the names of the stars in Hermione's ear and clapping when everyone else clapped.

"If we don't get into the same house —" Sinopa started but Hermione cut her off.

"— we'll still be friends, right?" Sinopa was touched that the girl was worried about the same thing she was.

"Of course, even if our houses are mortal enemies."

"Even if," Hermione repeated happily

She squeezed Hermione's hand tightly, unknown when they began to hold the other's hand, when she was called and missed the warmth of her hand as went up there. Hermione held her hat tightly in her hands as the Sorting Hat did whatever it did to sort her. It seemed to take a long time with her.

Could they send people back if they couldn't get sorted? Sinopa was beginning to worry frantically for her friend (the word filled her heart with a warmth that she couldn't quite identify), until the Hat called out "Gryffindor!"

Sinopa smacked Ron's arm lightly when he groaned.

Soon, it was the blonde boy turn. She learned his name was Draco Malfoy and she grew a little giddy. His name was that of a star! How cool was that?

The hat immediately called out his house, Slytherin, and he strutted over to where the rest of them sat and Sinopa couldn't help but notice that they looked kind of intimidating. But then they cheered for the boy and she watched as the smiles grew on everyone's faces as they welcomed him and she hoped that she got into that house, despite Hermione being in Gryffindor.

Gryffindor just seemed a little too happy and a little too excited and a little too everything and while that wasn't bad by any means… it just wasn't Sinopa's cup of tea. In fact, to her, they seemed like a cup of coffee brewed with an energy drink.

Hufflepuff, also, looked nice. They reminded her of bumblebees. All happy and sweet looking. They looked as sweet as their honey yellow color. Then there was Ravenclaw, who reminded her of a rainy day. She really liked rainy days.

She clapped as Harry was sorted into Gryffindor and realized her turn was coming up.

"Hey, Ron?"

He was the color of porridge as he grunted.

"Don't worry about it, okay? I was just hoping if, well — you and Harry will still be my friends no matter the house?"

She didn't get his answer as she was called up right then, her name echoing over the tables. It went quiet again, like every other person's before her. Although she heard a couple of them whispering as she walked up to the stool, her hands clasped in front of her so she wouldn't bite her hand. She was pretty sure if she had allowed it, she would've broken skin.

A couple of whispers echoed into her ears as she sat down at the stool, nervously holding her hat in her hands.

"What's with her skin?"

The hat brushed the top of her head.

"She's so tall, is she an exchange student or something?"

Over her ears.

 _I don't have to see their judging faces anymore_ , she thought in relief.

"What a stupid name!" One of them snickered.

Her hands tightened in anger around her hat's brim as the Sorting Hat itself settled over her eyes.

"Did you see her hair?"

" _My oh my_ ," the hat's voice echoed in her head, startling her out of her anger. " _How cunning you are_." He sounded amused. " _Athletic, very much so. You excel in them yet your grades are merely average, girl._ "

She frowned at that. _Yeah, well, school's never been my forte. I'd like to see you sit an exam._

" _Good thing I never have too, hmm?_ " If the hat could've smirked. " _You have so much passion, so much ambition, it's hard to know where to place you. You aren't the most patient person around but you're hardworking, shown by your perseverance in — are you pickpocketing people?_ "

Sinopa shrugged.

 _Mum wanted to pass down all of her wisdom. I'm hoping that she doesn't have any more but she said something about when I turn thirteen_ …

The hat wished he was horrified but he'd seen a lot of stuff in his time. " _You try hard at whatever's put in front of you but, no, you wouldn't do well in Ravenclaw._ "

She got a bit angry at that. She had heard that it was the smart house and had read through all of the houses descriptions.

 _Why? Because I can't sit still? My adhd? My dyslexia?! My average grades?_ She wanted to know just why exactly she couldn't make it in Ravenclaw.

" _You wouldn't grow at all. I've sorted many a child with learning disabilities into Ravenclaw and they are amazing, they flourish in the house because they care about what the house is for."_ The hat tried to placate her and it seemed to be working. " _It's nothing like what you stated above, you don't treasure the things Ravenclaws do. You treasure manipulation and ambition, hardworking and you aren't afraid to get your hands dirty. Those are traits of Hufflepuff and Slytherin._ "

Sinopa was confused. Those houses were the total opposite of one another.

" _On the contrary, they are very similar. It's all about what they hold dear. And those two houses hold some of the same things dear, that you do. Friendship. It's a matter of how they go about protecting it_ ," the sorting hat informed her, pondering on where to place the girl. He couldn't go off of any past friendships, they were young and they didn't last long, and those were few and far between. Her Grandmother and her Mother's relationships were out, those were parental relationships and didn't count for the thing he had in mind.

He asked her a very odd question.

" _What exactly would you do to protect a friend?_ "

 _That's a little broad. What do you mean?_ Sinopa asked. She hadn't been on as long as Hermione, although she thinks she was around Harry's mark.

" _Hmmm, how_ ** _dirty_** _would you let your hands get to protect those dear to you, your friends?_ " He asked.

Sinopa wondered for a moment, Hermione's face flashing in her mind along with Harry's and Ron's. Even the twins were there for a brief moment.

 _A true friend? Like a very best friend?_

" _The ones like those in the books you listen to._ "

That sealed it.

 _My hands would drip mud and blood before I let anything happen to them_.

The hat didn't say another word to her. Instead, he yelled out for everyone to hear.

" _SLYTHERIN!"_

Sinopa beamed brightly as she whipped off the hat and set it on the stool, the Slytherin house cheering as she walked over to it. She was seated on the left of the blonde boy from earlier, Draco.

"Hiya," she chirped as she took the seat, fixing her hat back on her head as she put her bag in her lap to keep it from wandering hands. She had her purse in there and she wasn't about to lose it or the money inside it.

A couple of the older years smiled at her as she sat by him but their primary focus was focused on the next kid being sorted, so, she directed her attention up there too and clapped when Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, like she knew he had been hoping for.

She's not ashamed to say she didn't pay a single mind to what the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, said. Minerva had praised him to the stars in the sky but she didn't like the gleam in his eyes. To others he, no doubt, came off as warm and inviting, and don't get her wrong his body language and clothes screamed that for everyone to hear, but she had been around her mother for years and she would take her out to people watch, to court hearings for murderers (again, priorities straight, Mum, priorities) and introduced her to some of the vicious trophy wives she trained into fitness, and she herself could be just as cunning and ruthless. Sinopa learned that from her mother and braided it into her own personality. That's how she knew to spot it.

Dumbledore was smarter than everyone gave him credit for. And they gave him a lot of credit. But she didn't think they knew he was smart in a different way. He used his "apparent" madness to hide it. She could respect him for that.

That didn't mean she had to like him.

Sinopa's train of thought was cut off by the array of food in front of her, more food than even Nokomis could make for a bake sale.

"Woah," she whispered as she took it all in. Then she saw her favorite supper dish and she probably got a lot of looks with how fast she moved to pile it on her plate, the bloody ghost next to Draco sent her a look as the food was right in front of him.

She immediately dug into it as Blaise (who was just as tall as her), the last kid who had been sorted, began to make pleasant conversation with her.

"And so, my Mum was telling me all about Slytherin because she knew I was gonna be in it and told me a couple of secrets 'bout our house."

"What are they?" Sinopa could hardly contain her excitement at being surrounded by all of the magic and she really loved magic, even if the mere thought of it intimidated her.

"Well, apparently, the common room is — oh, what'd you need Draco?"

Sinopa turned to face Draco too, taking a drink of her tea (the thought of drinking pumpkin juice was a nauseating idea to her. Probably because she was allergic to it) and swishing it around her mouth to get any food bits out.

She waited for Draco to ask Blaise his question but, surprisingly, turned to her.

In a drawling sort of voice, different from earlier which hadn't been as controlled, he asked her something really weird.

"What's your blood status?"

 _What the heck is that?_ Sinopa wondered. _Was that like blood type in the Wizarding World? Why would people care about blood?_

"I think I'm AB positive, but you'd have to ask my mum to be positive." She giggled a little bit at her pun.

"So you're a Muggleborn?"

"I guess so."

He and Blaise looked a bit curious but then someone mumbled something under their breaths and they turned away and suddenly the Slytherin table felt a bit cold. She finished eating the steak and kidney pie in silence, feeling a little bit ashamed of herself for some reason she couldn't fathom

A couple of the older kids looked like they wanted to tell her something but they were too far away and at the moment she didn't care. She kept her head down as she snuck slices of raw beef into an empty tupperware container for Feather, as he hadn't eaten since morning.

She cheered up a bit when dessert came and she happily ate some fruit gelato, ignoring the silence that seemed to surround her. She didn't ignore it very well when her fingers clenched around her spoon when one of the girls, a first year, she recognized from the sorting earlier, looked in her direction and laughed. Sinopa knew the laughter was at her when the girl made vicious eye contact with her.

They were dismissed, Dumbledore might've said something but she didn't really like him so…. She swung her bang around her shoulder as the two very weird Prefects happily helped them out of the Great Hall and led them down curving halls and through a painting that wasn't actually a painting and she could've sworn they went through the same hall not once, not twice, but three times.

They were led down deep into the depths of the castle and down a passageway to a dead end.

"Okay, guys, this is the passageway into the Slytherin Common room. We have a password to get into it and it changes at a regular pace, like once a week or so. You'll be informed when we get a new a password and remember it. Or you'll be stuck outside at one in the morning after studying for a potions test in the middle of December. In only a bathrobe."

The girl Prefect rolled her eyes and pushed the boy Prefect aside, who looked a little too happy at that last part.

"That happened to me once in third year, and I tell you this once again, let it go! Anyway, Marvelin, you forgot to tell them the password." She turned to the first years watching her in wide eyed awe as she winked and continued on, "It's Philospher's Stone. Don't forget it!"

And the bricks behind her disappeared much like the ones to the entrance in Diagon Alley and led into the Slytherin Common Room.

Sinopa's eyes were getting blurry in sleep but the view of the common room was gorgeous. As she stepped inside, she noticed the balcony ringing the room that was decked out in silver and green and black and all the right colors and what had to be an absolutely humongous aquarium. She rubbed her eyes a little and watched as the room came into better focus as the rest of the first years came to either side of her. Her jaw dropped when she realized it was not an aquarium on the other side of the room. No. That would be far too simple. It was, in fact, a titanic window to the lake. She could see the natural rock and any gaps between the formations was glass that allowed a stunning view to the inner workings of the lake.

"Girls, our dorms are to the left!" Marvelin shouted as the girl, her nametag read Emory, smacked him upside the head.

"Tell me, Marvelin, when'd you lose your dick?" She asked him under her breath as he gasped, a scandalized look on his face.

"Language Emory, how did you get chosen as a Prefect?"

She faced him with a deadpan look and Sinopa sincerely hoped what came out of her mouth next would be just as good.

"I beat up the other one in a fight for the alpha. Snape refereed." Sinopa was hoping the other students were listening like she was. Emory raised an eyebrow. "I'll beat you up for yours too if you don't lead the boys to their dormitory on the left!" She raised her voice so the boys could hear her as she gestured for the girls to follow her down the stairs. Marvelin gave a dramatic sigh as he motioned for the boys to follow him as he slid down the railing.

"Okay, girls, there aren't a lot of you first years in general this year, so you guys only get one dorm room this year. If you all have any problems with any of your dorm mates, come to me and we'll get it sorted, no problem." She told them as she led them up a couple of stairs and down a hallway. It seemed like she was repeating this from a notecard. "This is information for your later years, but boys aren't able to get up the stairs to the girls dorm. And yes, while that was not even a full flight of stairs, boys are still unable to get up those stairs but if you dare them they will not give up. Marvelin is one of those boys and I regret game of truth and dare everyday. Bathrooms can fit up to fifteen girls and you share yours with the second years, it's here in between your dorms," she smacked her hand on the door as they came to it. She pointed across the hall. "Dorms on the left, your bathrooms on the right. We all clear?" The girls nodded their heads and she smiled. She didn't look as intimidating when she smiled, Sinopa noted, although the bright orange hair and spike through her ear still made her super scary.

"You each get a key to your dorm room and the bathroom, we had a problem with people sneaking into the dorms and playing pranks on the younger ones so we get these," she held up a shiny key and gave them each one. "Don't worry about losing, it's charmed to reappear in your backpack at all times. If you forget your backpack or don't happen to have it on you for some reason and none of your dormmates are around or maybe they hate your guts and refuse to let you in, us Prefects have a master key so just come to us." She scrunched her eyebrows up as she tugged on the neck of her robes. "What am I forgetting?" She mumbled to herself. She brightened up and tried to put on a realistic smile. She got there halfway. "We Prefects are your friends, don't hesitate to approach us with a question, no matter how embarrassing it is. Whether you started your period and you don't have any tampons or pads or you can't get your winged eyeliner just right, we'll be there to help." She made a face. "Do not go to our head of house without going to us first so we can go through anything that he, er, might not _appreciate_ being asked."

A couple of the other Slytherin girls looked a little pale. Sinopa was just glad she had started her's a couple of months ago and had gone through the bloody mess with Mum already.

The pun was not intentional and slightly disgusting she realized. She inwardly apologized to herself as Emory opened the door with her master key and showed them their room.

It was a lot similar to the common room, with a window to the lake that spanned the outer wall with all their beds set against the inner wall.

She would've been the last one into the room, except Emory grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her back into the hall.

"Hey, take a seat, this'll be a bit. It's Sinopa, right?" She asked. Sinopa nodded at her mean and scary face, hurriedly sitting on the floor criss cross applesauce. Emory lounged on the floor beside her, crossing her legs in front of her.

"Sorry, resting bitch face acting up, I promise, I'm a teddy bear. Just sexier. Anyways, those girls you're rooming with," she waved her hand in the direction of the door and some other direction, "in fact your whole year, are a bit elitist and classist and prejudiced. Maybe they aren't personally, but their families are so I gotta know, was the whole blood system explained to you?"

Sinopa looked confused but shook her head. "Mum was supposed to, Minerva told her and she was supposed to tell me but I'm pretty sure she forgot."

"Well, here in the Wizarding World, they've got this thing about non-magical people, Muggles. They really despise them." Emory looked deadly serious and Sinopa was wondering why. Surely blood couldn't mean that much? "We've got three blood status' and you happen to be at the very bottom of the totem pole. Being Muggleborn is rare, I mean honestly, it should be celebrated you know? You came out of two muggles with a beautiful gift. Sorry, getting sentimental, here. They have this really awful name they'll probably call you. I deplore saying it so I can't say it to you but don't worry about it okay?" Sinopa nodded. "The people at the top are what they call Purebloods. Some don't give two shits about it and the others, it's everything to them. They marry inside other Pureblood lines to keep the bloodline all magical."

Sinopa wrinkled her nose. "Being Pureblood sounds like it's rare and if they're marrying into other Pureblood lines that must mean they got to be all related at some point, right?"

"Very good, hella of alot of incest going on with them. Marrying cousins and shit, ugh, anyways, you got Halfbloods in the middle, who could have a muggle and a magical parent, but two magical parents but one of them is Muggleborn and it's just a big shitty crockpot. Only the certain Purebloods and a minimal amount of Halfbloods care about the blood shit. Before you ask, I am a Halfblood because I can see it on your face that you wanna ask." Emory ruffled her hair and suddenly Sinopa got an idea of what her Mum must've been like when she was a teen, before she had her at 17. "They give you any shit, come to me or one of the other Prefects okay? I'm getting real sick of that insult being thrown around.' Sinopa had a feeling that her problem with the blood status quo went a lot deeper than she let on. "Also, the other houses are gonna throw this little bitch fit that Slytherin is evil and death eaters ( _what in all the deepest depths of the ocean were death eaters? Did they gnaw on skulls?_ ) and that we all believe in blood purity and all that bullshit but they're dirty little liars because I can point out an awful person in each of their houses that believe in blood purity. Slytherin is just a tad more vocal about it. So, if I'm not there, punch them in the throat for me."

Sinopa nodded hurriedly, not wanting to get punched in the throat herself.

"Good, now sweet dreams, and I'll see you in the morning," Emory sang, skipping off down the hall as she got to her feet.

"Good night!" Sinopa called after her as she heard her yell.

"Marvelin! Get the fuck out of the Girl's Dormitory! That dare was in first year and you still haven't gotten up the stairs!"

Blinking a little at the absurdity of what all just happened, she unlocked the door to her room, and stepped inside to see all the girls had already unpacked their trunks and had drawn their curtains shut.

She walked past the four beds and to the last one, which had her trunk at the end of it and settled her bag on top of it, deciding to unpack in the morning. Strangely enough, her curtains were shut. Curious, she unbuttoned the top of robe, it was far too tedious to unbutton it all the way down to the bottom, just far enough to get her head through and pulled it off just as she reached her curtains. Letting the robes fall to the floor, she popped her head through her curtains and smiled when she saw Feather sitting there and wagging his tail, looking proud.

Sinopa could only muster a tired grin as the day caught up with her.

"Hey boy, did you close the curtains all by yourself?" She yawned as he licked her chin in response. "Smart boy." She kicked of her shoes and climbed under the covers after she fastened back one of the curtains so she could catch a glimpse of the fish that swam by and pushed the basket off the bed, deciding to pick it up in the morning.

"Goodnight Feather," she mumbled as he crawled under the blankets with her, his head on the pillow beside her.

Feather snored in response.

 **Heyo you guys, this super long chapter is my apology for not updating for a long time. On documents it says 25 pages but on QuoteV it says 31 so I'm gonna go with the larger number. And yes, I am using book!Hogwarts Uniforms if you couldn't guess. It was a sacrifice made for canon and I say goodbye to all my hilariously embarrassing scenes (goodbye stockings, Draco will miss you) but its all good because I haven't seen any fanfictions that use the books uniform and this design for the Slytherin Common Room by Whisperwings(Oh, how I love these designs, it goes slightly against canon but aesthetic, yknow?) and I wanted to use them so tell me whatcha think down below and heart if you like it. And sorry if some parts seem tedious, I just write what I'm imagining in my head, including the little details. Also, Emory and Marvelin were unplanned but I love them. And I ain't pulling the "all slytherins are evil" shit. Because they aren't and all of the houses have their awful people (luna's belongings going missing, some of those hufflepuffs with the CoS, and just because Harry didn't notice awful, bullying Gryffindors doesnt mean anything. They're there. Fucking gits).**

Kisses~


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